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Miriam Carey May Have Suffered from Postpartum Depression

The woman who drove her vehicle across police lines towards the U.S. Capitol on Thursday may have suffered from postpartum depression, her mother said. Here's what you need to know about the condition.

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FRIDAY, October 4, 2013 — The reason that compelled Miriam Carey to drive through police forces as she attempted to get to the U.S. Capitol building yesterday may never been known, as Carey was killed by fire from the police officers responding to the intrusion. However, in the day since her death, family members have filled in some of the holes, expressing shock and disbelief at Carey’s actions, but also saying they think she was suffering from postpartum depression.

Carey’s one-year-old daughter was in the back of the car during the police chase, though she escaped the ordeal unharmed and has been placed in police custody.

A new mother can start to experience postpartum depression sometime in the months following the birth of a child, and the disease can last for more than a year, said Ariela Frieder, MD, a psychiatrist at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City.

Postpartum depression is an intense form of depression that occurs after a mother gives birth, and causes the woman to have difficulty feeling motivated, to have difficulty appreciating her child, and to be unable to focus. Feelings of guilt, worthlessness, hopeless, and problems sleeping or eating are all parts of the depressive disorder.

“When you have a baby, it’s very stressful, so you can be cranky or tired,” Dr. Frieder said. Postpartum depression goes beyond that normal crankiness, and women who have it feel there are no solutions to their problems and view everything negatively.

“One of the warning signs for me is if a woman is not sleeping, even when a baby sleeps,” Frieder said. If she can’t enjoy the child, and has “no energy to do anything,” it could be a sign, she added.

Often, women with a history of depression are at higher risk, and experiencing depression or other difficulties, such as a difficult pregnancy or excessive stress, during pregnancy could raise the risk.

Frieder said that postpartum depression doesn’t often lead directly to violence, but said “a woman can be very irritable and angry when she’s depressed, and that can compel her to do something violent.” This sometimes manifests itself in women becoming violent with their babies, but Frieder warned that most violence is related to psychosis, which occurs when someone believes things are happening that are not real, and “that forces them to become violent.”

Family members and friends who suspect postpartum depression via the presence of some of the symptoms should support the woman and encourage her to seek help from someone who can evaluate her psychological state and provide proper treatment.

It’s wrong to think that this is "in her head and it can go away,” Frieder said, noting that many people still don’t realize depression is in fact a disease.

Psychotherapy or medication are available treatment options, to help relieve symptoms. It’s also helpful for family members to pitch in more with childcare so that the stress on a woman is diminished. In extreme cases, electric convulsive shock therapy is a treatment option.

“Doctors need to screen and treat it more efficiently,” said Frieder. ‘We need to be more able to talk about it — it needs to not be stigmatized anymore.”

Though Frieder said she could not comment on Carey’s specific case, she noted that it is not possible to diagnose postpartum depression postmortem.